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Motorola Droid: The Early Reviews Are In
Brennon Slattery Oct 29, 2009 10:26 pm Verizon and Motorola have been pumping scores of hype into the release of the Motorola Droid, yet another smartphone hailed as an iPhone killer. After spec and picture leaks and premature Web site launches, the Droid has finally received the hands-on treatment, and so far the acclaim is near unanimous. PC World gives the Droid a 90 out of 100, saying it's a "powerful new competitor" in the smartphone wars that "certainly lives up to its promises." So what are other reviewers saying? THE GOOD Display CNET calls the Droid's 3.7-inch display "positively gorgeous" in its 4 out of 5 star review. Gizmodo calls the screen "the best one on an Android phone yet." The Droid's screen is slightly larger than the 3.5-inch screen on the iPhone 3GS, and it boasts a higher resolution: 854 by 480 as compared to the iPhone's 480 by 320. Web Browser What better usage of an incredible display than a great Web browser? Boy Genius Report posts a video showing the Web browser's capabilities wherein it's evident that the Droid knows its users will be drooling over the Web almost as much as they'll be making phone calls. Still, UMPC Portal found that the iPhone 3GS had a faster browsing speed -- 12 seconds page loads as compared to the Droid's 20 seconds. Google Navigation Much has been said about Google enhanced Navigation feature for Android 2.0. With turn-by-turn directions and voice capabilities, Google Navigation puts the heat on other non-Android smartphones and standalone GPS units. Watch out, though: Apple Insider claims Google Navigation may come to the iPhone. Android 2.0 It's the Droid's secret weapon. The updated Android 2.0 -- which you can fully explore in our primer -- stuns reviewers and makes for the Droid's highest selling point. Crisper, clearer, and more mature, Android 2.0 will surely make all other smartphone OSes quake. THE BAD Physicality Since the reviews are early, there have yet to be many complaints about Motorola's Droid, but that doesn't mean it's without flaws. The biggest complaint is the structure of the phone itself. It's heavy, not quite pocket-sized, and the keyboard is difficult to muster. Its keys are flat and shallow making it difficult for hands of any size to properly whip out text. THE VERDICT As you can tell, the positives clearly outweigh the negatives in the early stages of the Droid. Launching November 6 and retailing at $199, Motorola's Droid may bring Motorola back from relative obscurity and highlight the possibilities of what Google can do with the right manufacturer. Keep an eye on this beast: it'll surely bug out some eyes when it hits the streets. from: http://www.pcworld.com/article/17465...s_are_in.html? cheers!
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29-10-2009, 16:49
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29-10-2009, 18:27
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29-10-2009, 18:57
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29-10-2009, 19:07
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Don't forget that the Droid is made partly of metal and glass. The engineers at Motorola should really be commended for this. It's quite amazing. Look at the Droid compared to the N97 in terms of features, hardware-wise, and you'll see that the difference is quite large.
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29-10-2009, 19:14
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All that technology inside, phones like the Droid and N900 are going to be heavy its going to be down to the individual whether they can hack carrying a heavy phone with them or not.
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29-10-2009, 19:15
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Still nothing yet. Here is a decent review in russian, but no camera samples: http://www.mobiset.ru/articles/text/?id=3912 Quote:
This is a serious problem, especially the last 1-2 years. There is a rumour that O2 Germany will launch on starting calender week 47 a device named Motorola Milestone. This could be the Sholes. |
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29-10-2009, 19:37
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ron.jeremy, let`s not talk about n900 in this thread
Would love to have MotoBLUR on this baby though. Vanilla UI seems to pale in comparison to Sense/BLUR. Last edited by M H; 29-10-2009 at 20:02.. Reason: you don`t have to be provocative |
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29-10-2009, 19:49
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All the questions about a European version. There were two GSM leaks from the FCC. If you look at them you will notice different GSM frequencies listed.
One set of frequencies works perfect for Europe. The other phone has good frequencies for Latin America. Anyone want to connect the dots? |
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29-10-2009, 20:37
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Last edited by difenbaker; 30-10-2009 at 04:26.. Reason: - merged |
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29-10-2009, 21:34
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29-10-2009, 22:59
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29-10-2009, 23:06
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Hence the urgency of many bloggers and websites pushing Motorola for a comment re a European release. |
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29-10-2009, 23:35
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theoretically, android 2.0's core should have it... but I haven't seen any video of it yet. from other forums... it seems that only the keyboard supports MT?? http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.ph...entry591771296 http://androidforums.com/android-new...lash-lite.html cheers!
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30-10-2009, 05:04
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Finally I bought Motorola Droid with price USD 1,100 include ship to my country Indonesia. Finally I bougt Motorola Cliq with price USD 800 include ship to my country Indonesia.
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30-10-2009, 07:48
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30-10-2009, 09:42
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30-10-2009, 10:47
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more reviews ..
http://www.infosyncworld.com/reviews...oid/10615.html http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2354951,00.asp Rooter, thanks for that one. cheers! Ps: Multitouch it just for the virtual keyboard for now. Last edited by MoeOz; 30-10-2009 at 13:47.. |
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30-10-2009, 12:51
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My translation: According to FTD information, Motorola will introduce on monday a similar device with the name Motorola Milestone for european market. It should be available by mid-november in Germany for O2, Vodafone and The Phone House. Anyone knows if the Milestone will be our expected GSM Sholes version? Or a different device? |
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30-10-2009, 15:40
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How long until you will receive it? Are you gonna do a user review of it here? At least post some live pics when you get it....please. |
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30-10-2009, 18:46
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It was maybe that one with a supposedly GSM version of the Droid : http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/28/m...sm-form-video/ But now it's private. In that video he was using two fingers zoom. But it was a bit laggy. |
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30-10-2009, 19:03
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Full review: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/30/m...-droid-review/
First off, the camera is painfully slow to focus and snap pictures -- and when it does, the results can be unpredictable. Strangely, the lens seems to be able to take pretty sharp macro photos (it's even a setting in the camera app), but it struggled with getting adjusted to close subjects, even in broad daylight. |
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30-10-2009, 20:03
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Interesting thing to note that Eldar finds Droid as a better device than X3:
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31-10-2009, 18:04
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31-10-2009, 18:27
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31-10-2009, 18:41
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se_dude, most probably he prefer the build quality & the physical keyboard of the Droid (Milestone).
Here you go, yet another informative video walk thru the OS and keyboard.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yO2FfpNZ8_0 |
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31-10-2009, 19:02
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31-10-2009, 19:41
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Forgive my ignorance, (I dont know much about Andoid OS), but does Android do FW updates, to improve functionality, & upgrade features just like Nokia?
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31-10-2009, 20:19
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Pelipatan Wati
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31-10-2009, 20:26
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31-10-2009, 21:54
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31-10-2009, 22:59
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O2 Motorola Milestone: https://www.o2online.de/nw/assets/sh...tName=Fullsize
Starting on calender week 46: http://www.easy-phone.de/PREISE/o2_Hardware.pdf Looks like GSM version is coming fast. |
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01-11-2009, 09:24
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I know a GSM version is coming to Europe, but I have no idea of the marketing name or the exact release date. |
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01-11-2009, 10:04
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It's just a price list (business customers), you can see the Milestone is listed for KW46. About 500Ђ with VAT without contract. According to the Milestone pictures it's the Sholes. It is slated for mid november, maybe presentation on monday, at least for Germany. I posted a link earlier. And Eldar has a Milestone in his hands too.
http://forum2.mobile-review.com/show...1&postcount=80 |
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01-11-2009, 10:14
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EDIT: and BTW I don't know how many people realize that the X3 UI can be ported, just like MOTOBLUR |
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01-11-2009, 11:14
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